Slow Speed???
 

In one of my friend interview it was asked that "if Linux machine is in network and running slow.How gonna you check it?

Pls Help

It depends. Are the other applications also slow? Pinging could give hints. For me there are too many variables to reply. I hope someone else can give a better reply.

looks like some homework to me :-)

If it is homework, say that it is.

A better explanation overall would be great. Slow in what way? Network transfer speed slow, or cpu slow, or harddisk I/O slow, or something else going slow?

I also say it depends, but you can use the top command to see whats killing ur machine resources or check running procceses using ps command

vmstat -1 is more acurate than top...
at least at finding out where the issue lies (IO net cpu mem...)

well it does, but anyway he needs help. He is not asking you to do the homework, but he doesn't know where to begin. My advice: check google something like linux bencharking howto
and please read
How To Ask a Question
I think it's a summary of what Mr. Eric Raymond said about how to ask good questions.

My Friend in reply said the following way:

"...First we need to check processes running thrugh #ps -auxf.
Inerviewer: If all the process status looks fine.
Friend: "...Then we should check with vmstat.."
Intrvwer: That too sounds fine.
Friend:"...then lets see firewalling...stuff".
Intrv: Firewall seems ok"...


What Could be the expected questions???

again! it depends WHAT is slow: processes on the computer or the network connection!

just - slow speed - is not enough info.

if all processes look fine, and there is not a lot of IO, then i would assume that it's the network connection in question (vmstat does _not_ show network details, and i would run vmstat before ps).

iptraf can give live information (also ntop, or monitoring with vnstat)
but then also if there is a look in the network, the computers connection will be slow.
and if they dont know what a loop is, tell them to take a hub and stick both ends of a network cable into it, and then attach it someone in the network!